PERTH LOSE IN ANOTHER THRILLER

By Mark Thornber

Round 11, Perth v Swan Districts

At Brownes Stadium, Saturday 1 June 2013

Perth                           4.3       7.4       11.9      15.10    100

Swan Districts            3.1        6.4       11.4      16.8      104

Perth lost their third match this season by less than a goal as Swans stormed home to snatch the lead in the dying minutes and hold on to a thrilling 4 point victory at Brownes Stadium on Saturday.

In cool conditions the Royals made all the running early on as Dayle Garlett kicked the first goal of the match and this was followed with his second a minute later. After a slow start the Demons started to find some of the ball in the midfield with Dene White and Brett Hodge working hard in the absence of Alistair Smith, who was a late withdrawal.

Perth Captain Paul Bevan bobbed up to boot his team’s 1^st goal at the 8 minute mark and then he kicked another from a set shot. Simon Tunbridge kicked another one of his long trade mark goals just before quarter time as the home side took a lead of 8 points into the first break after kicking 4 goals 3 to 3 goals 1.

The second term saw the shootout continue as both Bevan and Garlett kicked goals for their respective sides. Perth was being well served by both Jackson Sketcher and Matthew Tedesco, who were rebounding well from the backline.

West Coast Eagle Ashley Smith playing on a wing kicked a clever left foot running goal half way through the quarter to again see the Demons open up a 2 goal lead. Just prior to half time though former Demon Matt Rodgers bustled through a pack to keep Swans in the match who only trailed by 6 points at half time.

The second half started well for Perth as again Bevan found space inside the forward 50 metres to kick his 5^th goal and his side’s 8^th major. The Swans just would not go away though and with Thomas Roach now dominating around the stoppages the black and whites started to again look dangerous.

By the half way mark of the term Swans had hit the front as they continued to find space especially on the scoreboard wing. Just when the momentum was heading all towards the black and whites Beavn kicked a wonderful goal from 50 metres to reinstate the lead for the Demons.

At three quarter time Perth were in front by just 5 points after Perth kicked 4 goals 5 to Swan Districts 5 goals straight. With the match on the line in the last term Perth came out looking the better side with Bevan kicking his 7^th and then Brennan Stack slipped free to kick a great goal and put the home side 17 points in front.

Swans continued the trend of the match and when former Demon Aaron Elari booted a clever goal from the boundary line the match was again up for grabs. The pacy Matthew Boyle then kicked a running goal at the 15 minute mark to lift all Perth fans as they seemed to be in a good position to hang on.

Swan Districts were now well in top in the middle square and dominating the clearances and with a strong breeze they kicked 2 quick goals to both Elari and Garlett to see the game set up to be another thriller.

With Perth desperate to use up the time clock that was now showing 24 minutes had gone they turned the ball over deep in their forward line and Swans pounced. Brett Robinson ran through Centre Half Forward to put the Swans in front as they managed to hang on in the dying seconds to record a 4 point win.

Bevan played an outstanding Captains match to finish with 7 goals with the much underrated White continuing his great season with 28 touches with Ashley Smith, Tedesco and Hodge also playing quality four quarter matches.

Next week Perth has a bye and then in round 13 plays the Royals at home in a must win match on Sunday as they continue to hang on to a spot in the top four.

Goals: Bevan 7, Stack, Tunbridge 2, Smith, Boyle, McInnes, Reimers 1.

Best: Bevan, White, Hodge, Smith, Tedesco, Moody.